AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 9, DELAWARE CODE, ENTITLED "COUNTIES" IN RESPECT TO EMPLOYEES PENSIONS IN NEW CASTLE COUNTY.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Delaware:

Section 1. The words "aggregating not more than five years" wherever they appear in Chapter 19, Title 9, Delaware Code, are hereby stricken and repealed in order to remove any limitation on the duration of allowable interruptions from continuous covered employment.

Section 2. § 1701, Title 9, Delaware Code, is amended by adding the following new paragraph at the end thereof:

All elective officials and all other persons appointed to public office and who are paid compensation by the aforementioned officers shall be considered as "covered employees" and as persons in "covered employment", anything to the contrary herein otherwise notwithstanding.

(a) Any pension payable under this chapter shall be subject to the limitation that the monthly pension payment shall not exceed $250 nor be less than $150 per month.

(b) The monthly pension payment shall be one-fortieth of the monthly retiring base pay, multiplied by the number of years (a fractional period of six months or more shall be counted as one year and less than six months shall not be counted) which the employee shall have served in covered employment during the period that ends on the date of retirement and includes no interruptions from continuous covered employment except allowable interruptions.

(c) Where a person eligible for a pension under this chapter shall have served in covered employment for at least 25 years and shall have served for at least 15 years thereof without interruption up to the date of retirement, his monthly pension payment shall be one-fortieth of the monthly retiring base pay multiplied by the total number of years served regardless of interruption.

(d) "Monthly retiring base salary" means the salary for covered employment paid to the employee for those 60 months of covered employment which are most nearly consecutive and during which the employee received the highest salary or wage divided by 60. For the purpose of this section, a vacation allowed an employee shall be regarded as time spent in covered employment.

(a) The monthly retirement and disability benefits for such employees as shall regularly receive part of their compensation from the City of Wilmington and New Castle County, or in alternate periods shall receive regular compensation from such City or County, shall be one-half of the monthly retiring base pay, divided by forty, multiplied by the number of years which such employee shall have served in covered employment; in case the total combined monthly retirement or disability benefits calculated under the provisions of this chapter and under any statute for the retirement of employees of the City of Wilmington be less than $150 or more than $250 then in lieu of such payment as calculated in this section the employee shall receive under this chapter not less than $75 and not more than $125 as a monthly retirement or disability benefit.